When I was in High School ( late 70's) I worked at a local ice cream joint called Farrell's, and one of the older guys working there claimed that he had raced the 1000 a couple of times.Mind you I knew nothing of Baja other than what I read in magazines, but one image that I had seen and had stuck with me was the Saab with a wheel torn off and stuck in a washout. Turns out it was this waiter that I was working with. He said he had to abandon the car there and I guess it was landmark for a number of years.